MALLOC(9) BSD Kernel Developer's Manual MALLOC(9)NAME
malloc, MALLOC, realloc, free, FREE, malloc_roundup, malloc_type_attach, malloc_type_detach,
malloc_type_setlimit, MALLOC_DEFINE_LIMIT, MALLOC_DEFINE, MALLOC_DECLARE -- general-purpose
kernel memory allocator
SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/malloc.h>
void *
malloc(unsigned long size, struct malloc_type *type, int flags);
void *
realloc(void *addr, unsigned long newsize, struct malloc_type *type, int flags);
void
free(void *addr, struct malloc_type *type);
unsigned long
malloc_roundup(unsigned long size);
void
malloc_type_attach(struct malloc_type *type);
void
malloc_type_detach(struct malloc_type *type);
void
malloc_type_setlimit(struct malloc_type *type, unsigned long limit);
#include <sys/mallocvar.h>
MALLOC_DEFINE_LIMIT(type, shortdesc, longdesc, limit);
MALLOC_JUSTDEFINE_LIMIT(type, shortdesc, longdesc, limit);
MALLOC_DEFINE(type, shortdesc, longdesc);
MALLOC_JUSTDEFINE(type, shortdesc, longdesc);
MALLOC_DECLARE(type);
DESCRIPTION
These interfaces are being obsoleted and their new use is discouraged. For new code, use
kmem(9) or pool_cache(9) instead.
The malloc() function allocates uninitialized memory in kernel address space for an object
whose size is specified by size. malloc_roundup() returns the actual size of the allocation
unit for the given value. free() releases memory at address addr that was previously allo-
cated by malloc() for re-use. Unlike free(3), free() does not accept an addr argument that
is NULL.
The realloc() function changes the size of the previously allocated memory referenced by
addr to size and returns a pointer to the (possibly moved) object. The memory contents are
unchanged up to the lesser of the new and old sizes. If the new size is larger, the newly
allocated memory is uninitialized. If the requested memory cannot be allocated, NULL is
returned and the memory referenced by addr is unchanged. If addr is NULL, then realloc()
behaves exactly as malloc(). If the new size is 0, then realloc() behaves exactly as
free().
Unlike its standard C library counterpart (malloc(3)), the kernel version takes two more
arguments.
The flags argument further qualifies malloc() operational characteristics as follows:
M_NOWAIT Causes malloc() to return NULL if the request cannot be immediately ful-
filled due to resource shortage. If this flag is not set (see M_WAITOK),
malloc() will never return NULL.
M_WAITOK By default, malloc() may call cv_wait(9) to wait for resources to be
released by other processes, and this flag represents this behaviour. Note
that M_WAITOK is conveniently defined to be 0, and hence may be or'ed into
the flags argument to indicate that it's ok to wait for resources.
M_ZERO Causes the allocated memory to be set to all zeros.
M_CANFAIL Changes behaviour for M_WAITOK case - if the requested memory size is big-
ger than malloc() can ever allocate, return failure, rather than calling
panic(9). This is different to M_NOWAIT, since the call can still wait for
resources.
Rather than depending on M_CANFAIL, kernel code should do proper bound
checking itself. This flag should only be used in cases where this is not
feasible. Since it can hide real kernel bugs, its usage is strongly
discouraged.
The type argument describes the subsystem and/or use within a subsystem for which the allo-
cated memory was needed, and is commonly used to maintain statistics about kernel memory
usage and, optionally, enforce limits on this usage for certain memory types.
In addition to some built-in generic types defined by the kernel memory allocator, subsys-
tems may define their own types.
The MALLOC_DEFINE_LIMIT() macro defines a malloc type named type with the short description
shortdesc, which must be a constant string; this description will be used for kernel memory
statistics reporting. The longdesc argument, also a constant string, is intended as way to
place a comment in the actual type definition, and is not currently stored in the type
structure. The limit argument specifies the maximum amount of memory, in bytes, that this
malloc type can consume.
The MALLOC_DEFINE() macro is equivalent to the MALLOC_DEFINE_LIMIT() macro with a limit
argument of 0. If kernel memory statistics are being gathered, the system will choose a
reasonable default limit for the malloc type.
The MALLOC_DECLARE() macro is intended for use in header files which are included by code
which needs to use the malloc type, providing the necessary extern declaration.
Code which includes <sys/malloc.h> does not need to include <sys/mallocvar.h> to get these
macro definitions. The <sys/mallocvar.h> header file is intended for other header files
which need to use the MALLOC_DECLARE() macro.
The malloc_type_attach() function attaches the malloc type type to the kernel memory alloca-
tor.
The malloc_type_detach() function detaches the malloc type type previously attached with
malloc_type_attach().
The malloc_type_setlimit() function sets the memory limit of the malloc type type to limit
bytes. The type must already be registered with the kernel memory allocator.
The following generic malloc types are currently defined:
M_DEVBUF Device driver memory.
M_DMAMAP bus_dma(9) structures.
M_FREE Should be on free list.
M_PCB Protocol control block.
M_SOFTINTR Softinterrupt structures.
M_TEMP Misc temporary data buffers.
Other malloc types are defined by the corresponding subsystem; see the documentation for
that subsystem for information its available malloc types.
Statistics based on the type argument are maintained only if the kernel option KMEMSTATS is
used when compiling the kernel (the default in current NetBSD kernels) and can be examined
by using 'vmstat -m'.
RETURN VALUES
malloc() returns a kernel virtual address that is suitably aligned for storage of any type
of object.
DIAGNOSTICS
A kernel compiled with the DIAGNOSTIC configuration option attempts to detect memory corrup-
tion caused by such things as writing outside the allocated area and imbalanced calls to the
malloc() and free() functions. Failing consistency checks will cause a panic or a system
console message:
o panic: ``malloc - bogus type''
o panic: ``malloc: out of space in kmem_map''
o panic: ``malloc: allocation too large''
o panic: ``malloc: wrong bucket''
o panic: ``malloc: lost data''
o panic: ``free: unaligned addr''
o panic: ``free: duplicated free''
o panic: ``free: multiple frees''
o panic: ``init: minbucket too small/struct freelist too big''
o ``multiply freed item <addr>''
o ``Data modified on freelist: <data object description>''
SEE ALSOvmstat(1), memoryallocators(9)BSD December 29, 2008 BSD